Capt. Janice Lufkin, RN, a retired decorated Navy nurse and former head nurse of the cardiac care unit at Philadelphia-based Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, died May 13 of heart failure, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported June 5.
Ms. Lufkin earned her nursing diploma in 1962. In 1963, she became head nurse of the cardiac care unit at Presbyterian Hospital, now Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.
Ms. Lufkin then served in the Navy Nurse Corps from 1966 to 1992, earning dozens of medals, stars, ribbons and citations. She earned a bachelor's in nursing in 1978 and was promoted to captain in 1986. She was a charge nurse of an 18-bed intensive care unit on a hospital ship for some years before being assigned as charge nurse at Philadelphia Naval Hospital and patient care coordinator at Navy medical centers in Virginia and South Carolina. In 1986, she became director for nursing services at the Naval Hospital in Okinawa, Japan, and later held that position at hospitals in Jacksonville, Fla., and Charleston, S.C.
After retiring from the Navy, Ms. Lufkin devoted herself to volunteering, serving with the Southeastern Pennsylvania region of the American Red Cross. She received several awards for her volunteer service, including the Red Cross' Florence Nightingale Medal in 2011.